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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806619">Of Cups and Service</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/warlockdetective/pseuds/warlockdetective'>warlockdetective</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, POV Second Person, Poisoning, Pre-Canon, a few others are alluded to but the main focus is on these two</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:20:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>844</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/warlockdetective/pseuds/warlockdetective</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><em>"I wouldn't worry about the messenger, if I were you," he responds in an instant, and you find yourself trying to read him as he continues, "All matters have been attended to</em> properly<em>."</em></p>
<p>Or red flags and the consequences of missing them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Of Cups and Service</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I keep thinking about the general concept of Poison For Breakfast, and I also wanted to experiment with writing one of the Denouements, so this came together.<br/>Honest feedback is appreciated.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You should've known.</p>
<p> In the present moment, it's the only thought that will repeat itself to you. Not to call for help, not to try and find a way to save yourself, but a taunt: you should've known, <em>you should've known, you should have <b>known</b></em>...</p>
<p> You had been called here to meet an anonymous messenger, which was perhaps the first red flag that you missed. One of the managers had given you a cup of tea with a sort of brevity to the manner. "Something to pass the time," he had assured you just moments before leaving you the sole occupant of the room. You assumed you knew which of the managers you had been talking to, and that particular manager always spoke with a code when leaving your company. This one had not, and that was the second red flag.</p>
<p> After several minutes without a word from either the managers or whoever the messenger was you began to grow anxious, and you drank your tea in an attempt to calm your nerves. Many of the drinks at the hotel sported either the hotel's logo or the organization's emblem. This drink, however, sported neither; in fact, its tea bag was completely absent. That was the third red flag. Despite it all, it wasn't until the taste kicked in that you realized something was wrong; bitter but oddly so, inconsistent in texture, almost fungal...</p>
<p> Panic came to you with the realization, and in the midst of the panic you had swallowed the hybrid brew. Your mind began to shout the one thought that's still spiraling within you now: <em><b>You should have known.</b></em></p>
<p> "Known <em>wh</em>--" you try to talk back, but a sharp sort of pain in your throat brings the sentence to a halt. <em>That this was a trap? That the manager you spoke to wasn't who you thought he was?</em> No...no that last question wasn't sitting right. Dewey rarely (if ever) left the sub-library, and despite how brief your conversation with the manager was, he had all of Frank's tics...he wouldn't do this sort of thing, would he? Ernest seemed almost too obvious, but that was the problem: it was <em>too</em> obvious, it couldn't have been--</p>
<p> A knock on the door interrupts your thoughts, but before you can try to respond, a fit of coughs almost causes you to double over, a numb sort of pain flooding you as you struggle to stand. <em>The poison can't be acting this fast, can it? Not if it's the one you're thinking of...it shouldn't have been more than ten minutes since you came into contact with it, how are the symptoms going to get worse than they already are now..?</em></p>
<p> One of the managers steps into the room in a rush, but he doesn't look the same as the one you had seen earlier. You try to read him as he slips something into the cup you had been given and stirs it, and if it weren't for your suspicions towards him, you'd swear this was Ernest. Before you can try to argue with yourself, he brings you to a steadier stand and says, "Drink this."</p>
<p> The tone of his voice confirms it, and you must have some sort of disbelief on your face as you look at him, for he states, "Mr. Snicket, I'm sure you'll find that this killed whatever was left of the mycelium. The quicker you drink it, the sooner the symptoms will fade." You don't trust him, and you aren't sure you can bring yourself to try until a quick sigh leaves him and he takes a sip of the tea. He doesn't wince, he doesn't show any sort of shock, and he doesn't show any of the symptoms you have as he places the cup into your hands. With a quick pause, you take a sip, and a different sort of shock comes to you as you finish the drink.</p>
<p> "<em>Wasabi</em>?" you manage to speak once your breath starts to return to you, and there's an almost smug sort of relief about Ernest as he takes the cup from your hands.</p>
<p> "Good to see you back to your senses," he responds in an almost dry sort of manner. "You'll have to forgive the staff, Mr. Snicket. That cup wasn't intended for you."</p>
<p> Oh. Oh, now <em>there's</em> a shock. "What do you--"</p>
<p> "I wouldn't worry about the messenger, if I were you," he responds in an instant, and you find yourself trying to read him again as he continues, "All matters have been attended to <em>properly</em>." The way he draws out the end of that sentence sticks out to you clearly, almost as if it's begging to be questioned. Before you can get the chance to, however, Ernest sports a curt sort of smile as he steps out of the room and speaks, "I'll be with you tomorrow morning when you're ready to check out, but if you need me sooner, I'm happy to be of assistance."</p>
<p> And with that, you are the sole occupant of the room again.</p>
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